This post is a rewritten version of this old post here: https://magyarbagoly.blogspot.com/2022/01/when-to-use-vanvannak.html
The verb van ‘to be’
You will notice that Hungarian sometimes lacks a verb where English has is. For example, while in English you would say What is this?, Hungarian does not have a verb here: Mi ez?
For "The apple is red", the Hungarian version is "Az alma piros" (word-by-word: the apple red)
Conjugating van
The third person form of the English verb to be in Hungarian is van. This form is used when the verb is combined with a question word or an adverb like hol ‘where’, ott ‘there’, bent ‘inside’.
Here are all the present-tense forms, Version 1
| SG | PL | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (én) vagyok ‘I am’ | (mi) vagyunk ‘we are’ |
| 2 | (te) vagy ‘you (sg. inf.) are’ (ön/maga) van ‘you (sg. formal) are’ | (ti) vagytok ‘you (pl.) are’ (önök/maguk) vannak ‘you (sg. formal) are’ |
| 3 | (ő) van ‘s/he is’ | (ők) vannak ‘they are’ |
Here are all the present-tense forms, Version 2
| SG | PL | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (én) vagyok ‘I am’ | (mi) vagyunk ‘we are’ |
| 2 | (te) vagy ‘you (sg. inf.) are’ (ön/maga) -- ‘you (sg. formal) are’ | (ti) vagytok ‘you (pl.) are’ (önök/maguk) -- ‘you (sg. formal) are’ |
| 3 | (ő) -- ‘s/he is’ | (ők) -- ‘they are’ |
What happened? In version 1, I included the van/vannak conjugations in the table, in the second version, I dropped them.
When to use van and vannak
You will see that the words van and vannak are often omitted. This only happens in the third person conjugation, the first and second person vagyok, vagy, vagyunk, vagytok are never omitted.
[And now we have to mention that the formal version of "you" in Hungarian, is conjugated as if it were third person.
in the singular case, the informal you is "te" while the formal you is "ön" or "maga"
If you learned other languages, think of it like the difference between "du bist" and "Sie sind" or "tu es" versus "Vous êtes".]
But enough of the formality explanation, let's return to what is happening to van/vannak.
DON't use van/vannak if you are describing what someone/something is using a noun or an adjective.
"Ő egy tanár" - "He is a teacher"
"Péter egy tanár" - "Péter is a teacher"
"Az alma piros" - "The apple is red"
"Mi az?" - "What's that?"
But DO use van/vannak in the following cases (basically, describing when, how, where something/someone is.)
Time - Expressing when something is.
"Mikor van a buli?"
- "When is the party?" "A buli 7-kor van." - "The party is at 7."
State - Expressing how something/someone is.
"Apád ma hogy van?" - "How is your dad today?" "Ma jobban van, mint tegnap, köszönöm."Ű
"He is better today than he was yesterday, thank you."
Location - Expressing where something is.
"Hol van a mozi?" - "Where is the cinema?"
"Ott van jobbra." - "It's there on the right."
Adverbial Participle - Expressing a verbal state of a noun
"Ki van nyitva az ablak?" - "Is the window open?"
"Nem, be van zárva." - "No, it's shut."
All the above become "Vannak" when the subject in question is plural:
"Itt vannak a poharak." - "Here are the glasses."
"A szobák fűtve vannak." - "The rooms are heated."
---------
So you have:
(Én) tanár vagyok. I am a teacher.
(Te) tanár vagy. You are a teacher.
Ő tanár. (verb drops here) He/She is a teacher.
Ön tanár. / Maga tanár. You are a teacher (formal you, singular)
(Mi) tanárok vagyunk. We are teachers.
(Ti) tanárok vagytok. You are teachers.
Ők tanárok. They are teachers.
Önök tanárok. / Maguk tanárok. You are teachers. (formal you, plural)
for adjectives:
Én okos vagyok. = I am clever.
Te okos vagy. = You(sg.) are clever.
Ön/Maga okos. = You(sg. formal) are clever. (Don't use 'van' here either.
Ő okos. = He/She is clever. ( Don't use 'van' here.)
Mi okosak vagyunk. = We are clever.
Ti okosak vagytok. = You(pl.) are clever.
Ők okosak. = They are clever (!!! Don't use 'vannak' here.)
Önök/Maguk okosak. = You(pl. formal) are clever. (Don't use 'vannak' here either.)
for adverbs:
Én jól vagyok. = I am fine. /I am well. /I am feeling fine. /I am feeling well.
Te jól vagy. = You (sg.) are fine.
Ön/Maga jól van. = You (sg. formal) are fine.
Ő jól van. = He/She is fine.
Mi jól vagyunk. = We are fine.
Ti jól vagytok. = You(pl.) are fine.
Ők jól vannak. = They are fine.
Önök/Maguk jól vannak. = You(pl. formal) are fine.
If we talk about WHERE someone is, you always need to use the suitable form of 'lenni'.
Én a lámpák alatt vagyok. (I am under the lamps)
Te a lámpák alatt vagy. (You are under the lamps)
Ő a lámpák alatt van.
Mi a lámpák alatt vagyunk.
Ti a lámpák alatt vagytok.
Ők a lámpák alatt vannak.
